Probing Wind Farms: Burgeoning, vital industry must be kept free of taint

Every wind-generating power company in New York needs to come under closer scrutiny.

There is just too much public money at stake. An aggressive watchdog is needed to make sense of the complicated deals they make, to protect taxpayers and to monitor the conduct of public officials whose decisions can yield wind generators millions of dollars.

That's why a state attorney general's investigation of two wind-power companies is so important -- and why a critical, independent eye should be kept on the rest of the industry.

Wind-powered generation of electricity is key to the success of New York's goal of producing 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2013.

In recent years, wind-farm development has proceeded at a near-frantic pace. Thousands of acres of pastures and cropland, including a sizeable chunk of Madison and Oneida counties, now sprout whirring, sky-high wind turbines. And more are on the way.

That's because wind generation is a heavily subsidized and lucrative business. Everybody cashes in.

Landowners can get hefty state and local tax breaks. That's in addition to the payments they receive from power companies for the right to place wind turbines on their property. They also could see their property values rise, even though their assessments may drop or stay unchanged as part of their tax benefits.

Power companies, which also may be eligible for grants and tax incentives, sell the electricity they generate to utilities. They also may sell energy credits on the open market to offset carbon dioxide and sulfur emissions from other industries.

And county and town governments get more revenue, often from payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreements with power-generating companies.

Some elected officials have voted to allow wind turbines in their municipalities even though they personally had negotiated or signed lease agreements with wind developers.

When he was an assemblyman, state Sen. Darrel Aubertine voted to give farmers with wind turbines on their land a property tax break. Trouble is, a wind developer had already approached Aubertine about putting turbines on his own farm.

In mid-July, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo served subpoenas on two companies developing and operating wind farms in Western and Northern New York. Cuomo wants to know whether the companies improperly sought land-use agreements and whether public officials were illegally influenced.

All wind-power deals throughout the state deserve such attention. These agreements need to above-board without even the hint of conflict.

It would be a shame if the misdeeds of a few opportunists soured taxpayers on funding incentives so vital to producing energy from wind and other renewable sources.